Carton unloader with self-aligning interface

ABSTRACT

A self-aligning interface ( 6300 ) is attached to a robotic carton unloader ( 6100 ) and provides an interface between an extendable conveyor ( 6200 ) and the robotic carton unloader ( 6100 ). The self-aligning interface ( 6300 ) can include a positional measurement device ( 6320, 6320   b,    6320   c ) mounted on the robotic carton unloader ( 6100 ) and operatively engaged with the extendable conveyor ( 6200 ) to provide positional information about the location of the extendable nose conveyor ( 6220 ) relative to the positional measurement device ( 6320, 6320   b,    6320   c ). A control unit ( 6180 ) is attached to the robotic carton unloader ( 6100 ) for full robotic control of robotic carton unloader ( 6100 ) and the unloading process. The control unit ( 6180 ) is connected to the positional measurement device ( 6320, 6320   b,    6320   c ) and the extendable conveyor ( 6200 ). The control unit ( 6180 ) uses positional information to calculate and control extension and retraction movements of the extendable conveyor ( 6200 ) in unison with the forward and reverse movements of the robotic carton unloader  6100  to ensure unloaded cartons ( 12 ) exiting the moving truck unloader are received on the extendable conveyor ( 6200 ).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/369,435, filed Aug. 31, 2016, entitled “AUTONOMOUS CONTROLSFOR A ROBOTIC CARTON UNLOADER”, and U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/251,036, filed Nov. 4, 2015, entitled “TRUCK UNLOADER SELFALIGNING INTERFACE”, the entire contents of both which are incorporatedby reference herein.

This application is a continuation-in-part of, and claims priority to,U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/471,795, filed Aug.28, 2014, entitled “Robotic Carton Unloader” [NOA 29 Sep. 2016] whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/871,292, filed Aug. 28, 2013, entitled “Robotic Carton Unloader”,U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/894,871, filed Oct. 23,2013, entitled “Robotic Carton Unloader”, U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/894,878, filed Oct. 23, 2013, entitled “RoboticCarton Unloader”, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/894,889, filed Oct. 23, 2013, entitled “Robotic Carton Unloader”,U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/916,720, filed Dec. 16,2013, entitled “Robotic Carton Unloader”, U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/971,463, filed Mar. 27, 2014, entitled “RoboticCarton Unloader”, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/973,188, filed Mar. 31, 2014, entitled “Robotic Carton Unloader”, andU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/023,068, filed Jul. 10,2014, entitled “Robotic Carton Unloader” The entire contents of allapplications are incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to an apparatus for handlingproducts, and is more particularly directed to an automatic caseunloader designed to unload product, such as cardboard cases of varioussizes, from within a trailer.

BACKGROUND

Trucks and trailers loaded with cargo and products move across thecountry to deliver products to commercial loading and unloading docks atstores, warehouses, and distribution centers. Trucks can have a trailermounted on the truck, or can be of a tractor-semi trailer configuration.To lower overhead costs at retail stores, in-store product counts havebeen reduced, and products-in-transit now count as part of availablestore stock. Unloading trucks quickly at the unloading docks ofwarehouses and regional distribution centers has attained new prominenceas a way to refill depleted stock.

Trucks are typically unloaded with forklifts if the loads are palletizedand with manual labor if the products are stacked within the trucks.Unloading large truck shipments manually with human laborers can bephysically difficult, and can be costly due to the time and laborinvolved. Consequently, a need exists for an improved unloading systemthat can unload bulk quantities of stacked cases and cargo from trucktrailers more quickly than human laborers and at a reduced cost.

The following presents a simplified summary of the innovation in orderto provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the innovation. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of the innovation. It is notintended to identify key/critical elements of the innovation or todelineate the scope of the innovation. Its sole purpose is to presentsome concepts of the innovation in a simplified form as a prelude to themore detailed description that is presented later.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one aspect of the subject innovation, a self-aligning interface isprovided for interfacing an extendable conveyor attached to a floor of awarehouse to a robotic carton unloader when a robotic carton unloader iswithin a semi-trailer to unload cartons. The extendable conveyor has anextendable nose conveyor to receive unloaded cartons thereon from therobotic carton unloader during the unloading process. A positionalmeasurement device is mounted on the robotic carton unloaded andoperatively engaged with the extendable conveyor to provide positionalinformation about the location of the extendable nose conveyor relativeto the positional measurement device. A control unit is attached to therobotic carton unloader for robotic control of robotic carton unloaderand the unloading process. The control unit operably connects to thepositional measurement device and communicably connects to theextendable conveyor. The control unit (6180) uses the positionalinformation to calculate and control extension and retraction movementsof the extendable conveyor to move in unison with the forward andreverse movements of the robotic carton unloader.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certainillustrative aspects of the innovation are described herein inconnection with the following description and the annexed drawings.These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various waysin which the principles of the innovation can be employed and thesubject innovation is intended to include all such aspects and theirequivalents. Other advantages and novel features of the innovation willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of theinnovation when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of a carton unloader with a self-aligninginterface.

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of the carton unloader of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a partial sectioned side view of a truck trailer withthe carton unloader of FIG. 1 positioned within, and with the cartonunloader interfacing with an extended extendable conveyor;

FIG. 4 illustrates an enlarged partial side view of the carton unloaderof FIG. 3 interfacing with the extended extendable conveyor;

FIG. 5 illustrates an enlarged partial side view of the carton unloaderand extended conveyor of FIG. 4 interfaced with the extendable conveyorand with a string encoder mounted on the carton unloader and connectedto the extended extendable conveyor;

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of the extended extendable conveyor ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 7 illustrates a top section view of the truck trailer of FIG. 3showing lateral and angular misalignment of the truck trailer with theloading dock and the extended extendable conveyor, and with theinterface of the carton unloader self-aligned to one side to align withthe extended extendable conveyor;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial top view of a rear portion of the cartonunloader of FIG. 1 showing a carton unloader laterally misaligned in afirst direction and interfacing with the extended portion of theextendable conveyor;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial top view of a rear portion of the cartonunloader of FIG. 1 showing the carton unloader laterally aligned withthe extendable conveyor in an extended position;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged partial top view of a rear portion of the cartonunloader of FIG. 1 showing a carton unloader laterally misaligned in asecond direction and interfacing with the extended portion of theextendable conveyor;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged side view of the self-aligning interface at therear of the carton unloader showing a distance and measuring deviceattached thereto;

FIG. 12 is a top section view of a first embodiment of the distancemeasuring device of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a side section view of a first embodiment of e distancemeasuring device;

FIG. 14 is an isometric view into a protective shell surrounding asecond embodiment of the distance measuring device;

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the second embodiment of the distancemeasuring device FIG. 14 positioned to show encoders;

FIG. 16 is an isometric view of the second embodiment of the distancemeasuring device of FIG. 14 with the string pointing in a seconddirection;

FIG. 17 is an isometric view of the second embodiment of the distancemeasuring device of FIG. 14 with the string pointing in a seconddirection;

FIG. 18 is an isometric view of the second embodiment of the distancemeasuring device with the string pointing in a third direction;

FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary computing environment for an onboardunloading controller of the robotic carton unloader of FIG. 1, accordingto one or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, like reference characters designate likeor corresponding parts throughout the several views. Also, in thefollowing description, it is to be understood that terms such as front,back, inside, outside, and the like are words of convenience and are notto be construed as limiting terms. Terminology used in this patent isnot meant to be limiting insofar as devices described herein, orportions thereof, may be attached or utilized in other orientations

In the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure, specific exemplary embodiments in which the disclosure maybe practiced are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilledin the art to practice the disclosed embodiments. For example, specificdetails such as specific method orders, structures, elements, andconnections have been presented herein. However, it is to be understoodthat the specific details presented need not be utilized to practiceembodiments of the present disclosure. It is also to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and that logical, architectural,programmatic, mechanical, electrical and other changes may be madewithout departing from general scope of the disclosure. The followingdetailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense,and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appendedclaims and equivalents thereof.

References within the specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “embodiments”, or “one or more embodiments” are intended toindicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of such phrases invarious places within the specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternativeembodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, variousfeatures are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments andnot by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which maybe requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

It is understood that the use of specific component, device and/orparameter names and/or corresponding acronyms thereof, such as those ofthe executing utility, logic, and/or firmware described herein, are forexample only and not meant to imply any limitations on the describedembodiments. The embodiments may thus be described with differentnomenclature and/or terminology utilized to describe the components,devices, parameters, methods and/or functions herein, withoutlimitation. References to any specific protocol or proprietary name indescribing one or more elements, features or concepts of the embodimentsare provided solely as examples of one implementation, and suchreferences do not limit the extension of the claimed embodiments toembodiments in which different element, feature, protocol, or conceptnames are utilized. Thus, each term utilized herein is to be given itsbroadest interpretation given the context in which that terms isutilized.

Referring initially to the drawings, FIGS. 1-17 illustrate an alternateembodiment of a robotic carton unloader 6100 for unloading a container,truck, or semi-trailer 10. The robotic carton unloader 6100 includes acontrol unit or control and visualization system 6180 including aprocessor and attached to the robotic carton unloader 6100 forautonomous robotic control of robotic carton unloader 6100. Control andvisualization system 6180 can control the unloading process withouthuman intervention. The robotic carton unloader 6100 may include aninterface or self-aligning interface 6300 of the present innovation tointerface with an extendable conveyor 6200 shown mounted to a floor 34of a warehouse 30 in FIG. 3. The self-aligning interface 6300 caninclude positional measurement device 6320 mounted on the robotic cartonunloader 6100 to operatively engage with the extendable conveyor 6200 toprovide positional information about extendable nose conveyor 6220 ofthe extendable conveyor 6200 relative to the positional measurementdevice on the robotic carton unloader 6100. The self-aligning interface6300 can include the visualization and control system 6180 which canoperably connect to the positional measurement device 6320 andcommunicably connect to the extendable conveyor 6200. The control unit6180 may use the positional information to extend the extendableconveyor 6200 to a position to receive unloaded cartons 12 thereon, andmay calculate and control extension and retraction movements of theextendable conveyor 6200 to move in unison with the forward and reversemovements of the robotic carton unloader 6100.

The self-aligning interface 6300 can include a carton alignmentinterface 6350 that mechanically engages with the extendable noseconveyor 6220 to laterally guide unloaded cartons exiting the roboticcarton unloader 6100 onto the extended nose conveyor 6220. Cartonalignment interface 6350 can readjust during the unloading process. Thecontrol unit or control and visualization system 6180 may interface theextendable conveyor 6200 to the robotic carton unloader 6100 to receiveunloaded cartons onto the extendable conveyor 6200, and control unit6180 may continually maintain this carton receiving relationship toprovide a continuous flow of cartons 12 from the robotic carton unloader6100 onto extendable conveyor 6200 throughout the unloading of thesemi-trailer 10. The control and visualization system 6180 of theself-aligning interface 6300 can maintain this carton receivingrelationship relative to the robotic carton unloader 6100 during theunloading process by calculating and communicating extension andretraction movements to the extendable nose conveyor 6220 to synchronizewith forward and backward movements the robotic carton unloader 6100during the unloading process. Extendable conveyor 6200 is depicted inFIG. 3 as a fully powered telescopic or extendable conveyor mounted tothe floor 34 of the loading dock 32, but is not limited thereto.

The automated features of the self-aligning interface 6300 operatewithout human intervention, can ensure that the extendable conveyor 40and the carton unloader 20 provide a continuous unbroken conveying pathbetween the robotic carton unloader 6100 and the extendable conveyor6200, can ensure that cartons 12 do not fall into a gap between thecarton unloader 20 and the extendable conveyor 6200, and can ensure aconstant uninterrupted flow of cartons 12 onto the extendable conveyor6200. The self-aligning interface 6300 can also include a cartonalignment interface 6350 attached to a rear of the robotic cartonunloader 6100 configured to reposition from contact with the extendablenose conveyor 6220 to laterally redirect unloaded cartons 12 exiting arear of the robotic carton unloader 6100. Carton alignment interface6350 automatically compensates for lateral or angular misalignmentbetween the extendable nose conveyor 6220 of the extendable conveyor 40and a rear of the carton unloader 6200 by laterally adjusting adischarge or exit path of the cartons 12 discharging from a rear of therobotic carton unloader 6100 (see FIGS. 7-10). Each element of theself-aligning interface 6300 can work in unison to address a differentproblem and can ensure that a steady flow of cartons 12 will exit fromthe robotic carton unloader 6100 and can be received onto the extendableconveyor 6200.

Embodiments of robotic carton unloader 6100 can include embodimentsdescribed in co-pending parent U.S. application Ser. No. 14/471,795,entitled “Robotic Carton Unloader” filed Aug. 28, 2014, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety. The self-aligning interface 6300 described in detail below isnot limited to use with the robotic carton unloader 6000 and could beadapted for use with other robotic carton unloaders.

In embodiments, the self-aligning interface 6300 can comprise positionalmeasurement device 6320, 6320 b, or 6320 c mounted on the robotic cartonunloader 6100 and operatively engaged with the extendable conveyor 6200to provide positional information about the location of the extendablenose conveyor 6220 relative to the positional measurement device 6320,6320 b, 6320 c on the robotic carton unloader 6100. The self-aligninginterface 6300 may include control unit 6180 attached to the roboticcarton unloader 6100 for robotic control of robotic carton unloader 6100and the unloading process. The control unit 6180 may be operablyconnected to the positional measurement device 6320, 6320 b, 6320 c andcommunicably connected to the extendable conveyor 6200. The control unit6180 may use the positional information to calculate and controlextension and retraction movements of the extendable conveyor 6200 inunison with the forward and reverse movements of the robotic cartonunloader 6100.

Robotic carton unloader 6100 can unload cartons 12 from within a store,distribution center, or warehouse 30, and from the container, truck, orsemi-trailer 10. The term “robotic” of the robotic carton unloader 6100may mean completely autonomous operation without human intervention. Acontrol unit or control and visualization system 6180 can include aprocessor, and be mounted on the robotic carton unloader 6100. Thecontrol and visualization system 6180 may visualize or sense thesurroundings, may use the sensings to perform computations with thecontrol and visualization system 6180 to identify and select cartons 12for removal, use the computations from the control and visualizationsystem 6180 to move the robotic carton unloader 6100 into position, anduse the computations from the control and visualization system 6180 tounload the selected cartons 12 without any human intervention. Thecontrol and visualization system 6180 can constantly re-sense andre-compute all autonomous actions necessary to unload an entiresemi-trailer 10 from rear to front.

By way of example, the robotic carton unloader 6100 may, under thecontrol of the control and visualization system 6180, operate withoutany human intervention as it moves from the warehouse 30, through aloading door 32, into the semi-trailer 10, unloads the cartons 12 withinentire semi-trailer 10 from rear to front, and then exit from the semitrailer 10 back into the warehouse 30 to access another truck trailer 12at the same or a different location. The control and visualizationsystem 6180 can at least visualize or sense the warehouse 30, theloading door 32, the interior of the semi-trailer 10, a carton wall orcarton pile 11 stacked on floor 18 of the semi-trailer 10, andindividual cartons 12 of all sizes and shapes thereof, and canautonomously compute all movements necessary to move and steer therobotic carton unloader 6100 during the unloading process (See FIG. 3).

As shown in at least FIGS. 1-4, the robotic carton unloader 6100 can becharacterized as follows. Robotic carton unloader 6100 can unload acarton pile 11 resting on a floor 18, e.g. within a truck, warehouse,container or semi-trailer 10. The control and visualization system 6180may be configured to operate the robotic carton unloaded 6100, and tocontrol and automate the unloading process by coordinating andcontrolling all of the functions of the systems of the robotic cartonunloader 6100. Mobile body 6120 can carry the control and visualizationsystem 6180 and may be driven and steered thereby. The conveyor system6140, can be controlled by the control and visualization system 6180, totransport cartons 12 unloaded thereon, the conveyor system 6140 mountedon the mobile body 6120 and fixed thereto to extend from a front to arear of the robotic carton unloader 6100. A robotic arm 6130 can becontrolled by the control and visualization system 6180 and may beconfigured to attach to the mobile body 6120 to straddle the conveyorsystem 6140 on sides thereof so that cartons 12 may pass throughpivotable sides thereof.

The carton retrieval robotical arm 6130 may comprise a pair of pivotingarms 6132 a, 6132 b with lower arm 6132 a having a first end pivotallyattached to a side of the mobile body 6120, at lower arm axis 6134, asecond end that pivotally attached to upper arm 6132 b at upper arm axis6136 with the upper arm 6132 b pivotally extending from the second endof the lower arms 6132 a to rotate around the upper arm axis 6136, and avacuum manipulator 6138 may be pivotally attached to pivotable ends ofthe upper arm portion 6132 b to pivot around head pivot axis D-D (seeFIG. 2).

Control and visualization system 6180 may include various visualizationsensors (e.g., cameras, etc.), operator interfaces (e.g., joysticks,pendants, displays, keypads, etc.), and processors, and may be capableof controlling and automating the unloading process, and driving andsteering the robotic carton unloader 3500 into and out of unloadingareas (e.g., semi-trailers) before, during, and after the unloadingprocess. The control and visualization system 6180 can be used tocompute the location of the wall of carton piles 11 relative to roboticcarton unloader 6100 and the manipulator 6168 and can autonomouslycontrol and move the robotic arm 6130 to unload of cartons 12 from thecarton pile 11 and place the unloaded cartons 12 onto the unloaderconveyor system 6140 for conveyance onto the extendable conveyor 6200.

Robotic carton unloader 6100 in embodiments may include robotic arms (orrobotic carton retrieval arms) that may be of a straddle design andinclude end effectors (e.g., vacuum manipulators) for retrieving items(e.g., cartons from a carton pile), conveyor systems (e.g., adescrambling conveyor), and mobile (or vehicle) bodies. Such embodimentrobotic carton unloaders may be suitable for efficient and fastunloading of items (e.g., cartons, cardboard boxes, any kind of productcontainer for conveying products, etc.) from unloading areas, such as atruck (or semi) trailer, refrigerated areas, loading docks, etc. Forexample, a robotic carton unloader according to various embodiments maybe configured to drive into a semi-trailer via its mobile body, todislodge or remove cartons from a carton wall or carton pile stacked ona floor of the semi-trailer via its end effector (e.g., manipulatorhead) coupled to the robotic arm, and to transfer or unload thedislodged cartons from the semi-trailer and into a store, warehouse, ordistribution center unloading bay via its conveyor system that travelswith the mobile body and outputs the cartons to other conveyors. Suchembodiment robotic carton unloaders 100 may be capable of removing asubstantial portion of a row of items (e.g., a carton row) that extendsside-to-side across an unloading area (e.g., semi-trailer) with oneremoval action. For example, such robotic carton unloaders 100 may beconfigured to remove between about 40% to about 100% of a carton row inone movement. Designed to move within space-constrained unloading areas,such embodiment robotic carton unloaders 100 may minimize the time andeffort required to efficiently unload and provide basic organization foritems being moved for subsequent processing within facilities, such asdistribution centers. Alternately, the robotic arm 6130 in embodimentsmay be a conventional robotic arm by way of an example a FANUC RobotR-1000ia sold by Fanuc Robotics America Corporation described in andshown in FIGS. 1-4 of parent U.S. application Ser. No. 14/471,795.

As shown in the side view of the robotic carton unloader 6100 of FIG. 1and top view of FIG. 2, the descrambler or unloader conveyor or conveyorsystem 6140 extends from front to rear of the robotic carton unloader6100, and can include an independently movable front conveyor portion6140 a mounted on a pedestal 6141. Pedestal 6141 can raise and lower thefront conveyor portion 6140 a, can tilt a front of the front conveyorportion 6140 up and down, can slide the front portion 6140 a laterallyfrom side to side, and can extend and retract to move the front conveyorportion into position to receive articles unloaded from the carton pile11 by the robotic arm 6130. A center conveyor portion 6140 b is attachedacross a top of the mobile body 6120 to convey and descramble cartons 12conveyed thereon. A rear conveyor portion 6140 c extends rearwards todefine a rear of the robotic carton unloader 6100, and is configured tointerface with the extendable conveyor 6200.

In FIGS. 1-3, the self-aligning interface 50 comprises front guide rails27 suspended above the center conveyor 26 b that funnel down to a narrowpoint or throat 27 a at the transition onto the rear conveyor 26 c.Articles 35 moving rearwards along the center conveyor 26 b are biasedinwardly by contact with the front guide 27 to emerge from the throat 27a at a center of the rear conveyor 26 c. Rear conveyor 26 c of forms aportion of the self-aligning interface 50 and extends from a rear of therobotic carton unloader 20 with an overhang that extends over theextendable conveyor 40 when interfaced (see FIGS. 3-5 and 7-10).

Raised conveyor guides 6142 extend along sides of the conveyor system6140 above a conveying surface thereof to guide cartons 12 moving frontto rear along the unloader conveyor system 6140 (see FIGS. 1-10). Thefront conveyor portion 6140 a has angled front guides 6142 a to funnelrearward moving cartons 12 inwards towards a center of the frontconveyor portion 6140 b. Center conveyor portion 6140 b has angledcenter guides 6142 c that funnel down to a narrow point or throat 6144at the transition onto rear conveyor portion 6140 c. Cartons 12 movingrearwards along the center conveyor portion 6140 b are biased inwardlyby contact with the center guides 6142 c to emerge from the throat 6144onto a center of the rear conveyor portion 6140 c. Rear conveyor portion6140 c extends from a rear of the robotic carton unloader 6100 with anoverhang that extends over the extendable conveyor 6200 when interfaced(see FIGS. 3-5 and 7-10). Carton alignment interface (6350) attaches toa rear of the robotic carton unloader 6100 and can be configured toreposition from contact with the extendable nose conveyor 6220 tolaterally redirect unloaded cartons 12 exiting a rear of the roboticcarton unloader 6100 onto the extendable nose conveyor 6220. Cartonalignment interface 6350 may attach to rear conveyor portion 6140 c.

Carton alignment interface 6350 (see FIGS. 1-5) can comprise a slidingbar 6352 slidingly mounted at a rear of rear conveyor portion 6140 c tomove laterally to either side on slides 6354. Roller bracket 6355extends downwards from sliding bar 6352 on each side to rotatablysupport a roller 6356 on each side. Rollers 6356 are spaced apart toreceive extendable nose conveyor 6220 in between and to rotate asextendable nose conveyor 6220 extends therein. A pair of rear guides6142 c pivotally attach to the rear conveyor portion 6140 c at throat6144 with one on each side thereof to pivot around a vertical axis. Rearends of rear guides 6142 c pivotally attach at each end of sliding bar6352 above rollers 6356 and are generally parallel as depicted in FIG.2. As shown in FIG. 6, extendable conveyor 6200 has extendable noseconveyor 6220. An angled guide 6222 is attached at a front end of theextendable nose conveyor 6220. Angles of angled guide 6222 areconfigured to contact with rollers 6356 of the carton alignmentinterface 6350 as the extendable nose conveyor 6220 is extended and tobias the sliding bar 6352 to one side when a misaligned extendable noseconveyor extends in between rollers 6356 as shown in FIG. 7. Rollers6356 and retractable cable 6322 described below may form the onlyphysical connections between extendable conveyor 6200 and robotic cartonunloader 6100.

In FIG. 7, the extendable conveyor 6200 is attached to the floor 34 a ofthe warehouse 30 and the extendable nose conveyor 6220 is extendedthrough loading door 35 into semi-trailer 10 and into engagement withcarton alignment interface 6350. In FIG. 7, the semi-trailer is bothshifted laterally to loading door 35 a distance 36 and at an angle 38 tothe loading door 35 to show misalignments. Extendable conveyor 6200 iscentered in the loading door 35. Angled guide 6222 of extendableconveyor nose 6220 has shifted the carton alignment interface 6350laterally from the extendable conveyor 6200/robotic carton unloader 6100misalignment, and the rear guides 6142 c pivot or swivel at throat 6144.When cartons 12 travel along rear conveyor portion 6140 c, the rearguides 6142 c guide or redirect the cartons onto extendable noseconveyor 6220 (FIG. 3).

FIGS. 8-10 show three positions for carton alignment interface 6350 tobe adjusted to from contact with the extendable conveyor 6220. FIG. 8shows the carton alignment interface 6350 interfacing with extendablenose conveyor 6220 laterally redirected or biased to a first side. FIG.9 shows the extendable nose conveyor 6220 aligned with the roboticcarton unloader 6100 and with the carton alignment interface 6350 in anun-biased position. FIG. 10 shows carton alignment interface 6350interfacing with extendable nose conveyor 6220 laterally redirected orbiased to a second side. An arrow is provided on rear conveyor 6140 c ineach of FIGS. 8-10 to show the path followed by unloaded cartonsconveyed on rear conveyor 6140 c from the lateral redirection or biasfrom the rear guides 6142 c.

Positional measurement device 6320 can be positioned at a rear of therobotic carton unloader 6100 and under the overhung rear conveyorportion 6140 c as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5, and 11 to measure distanceand angular positions of one or more points on the extendable noseconveyor 6220 relative to the positional measurement device 6320. Thepositional information obtained with the positional measuring device6320 can be used by the control and visualization system 6180 which, inthe present embodiment, can be the control and visualization system 6180autonomously controlling the robotic carton unloader 6100. Control unit6180 may be attached to the robotic carton unloader 6100 and to thepositional measurement device 6320 (described below) and communicablyconnected to the extendable conveyor 6200. Control unit 6180 can movethe extendable nose conveyor 6220 into carton receiving alignment withthe robotic carton unloaded 6100. The control unit 6180 may beconfigured to receive positional information from the positionalmeasurement device 6320 and to use the positional information tocalculate and communicate synchronized extension and retractionmovements to the extendable conveyor 6200 to maintain synchronizedcarton receiving alignment between the robotic carton unloaded 6100 andthe extendable conveyor 6200.

Control and visualization system 6180 can use the positional informationto calculate the synchronized receiving alignments as movementscommunicated to the extendable conveyor 2200 to extend and retract theextendable nose conveyor 6220 of the conveyor 40 in unison with theforward and reverse movements of the robotic carton unloader 20. Thecontrol unit 6180 can be attached to the robotic carton unloader 6100for robotic control of robotic carton unloader 6100 and the unloadingprocess. The control unit 6180 may be operably connected to thepositional measurement device 6320, 6320 b, 6320 c and communicablyconnected to the extendable conveyor (6200) to control extension andretraction movements of the extendable conveyor (6200) in unison withthe forward and reverse movements of the robotic carton unloader 6100.

Communication between the carton unloader 6100 and the extendableconveyor 6200 can be through a communications link 6327 such as, but notlimited to, a wireless system, laser, infrared, visible light, or anEthernet cable. An example of a communications link 6327 can be seen inFIG. 3 with an unloader wireless unit 6340 on robotic carton unloaderand an extendable wireless link 6340 on the extendable conveyor 6200.FIG. 5 shows by way of example, a cable such as an Ethernet cable 6345linking the control and visualization system 6180 to the extendableconveyor 6200 to send extension and retraction commands thereto.

As depicted in FIGS. 12-18, the positional measurement device 6320 caninclude a retractable string or cable 6322 that can be used to measuredistances and angular positions. Positional measurement devices 6320,6320 b, 6320 c can be mounted on the robotic carton unloader 6100 andoperatively engagable with the extendable conveyor 6200 to providepositional information about the extendable nose conveyor 6220 of theextendable conveyor 6200 relative to the positional measurement device6320, 6320 b, 6320 c on the robotic carton unloader 6100.

The retractable cable 6322 can include an attachment member 6324 at afree end thereof that can attach to the extendable nose conveyor 6220and can comprise a hook, a ring, a magnet, or any other attachmentmember 6324. In some embodiments, the attachment member 6324 can becurved or arcuate such as ring 6320 in FIG. 18 or hook 6324 in FIGS. 11and 12. By way of an example, the attachment member can attach to a holeor ring in the extendable nose conveyor 6220 or angled guide 6222 ofconveyor nose 6220.

As shown in the top sectional view of FIG. 12, a first embodiment of apositional measurement device 6320 can comprise a shield or shell 6328that attaches under the overhung rear conveyor portion 6140 c to protectthe positional measurement device 6320. Shell 6328 can include an openside facing rearwards towards the extendable conveyor 6200 for thepassage of the retractable cable 6322 therethrough and can include anopen top. Retractable cable 6322 can wrap around take-up reel 6329 whichcan be configured to constantly retract retractable cable 6322.Retractable cable 6322 is fed from take-up reel 6329 through opening6330. Attachment member 6324 is larger than opening 6330 to preventretractable cable 6322 from being pulled through opening 6330. Avertical scale 6331 can be provided on the inside of the shell 6328 andvertical sensor 6332 can sense a vertical angular position ofretractable cable 6322 up or down as an angle in degrees or radians suchas angle “A”. A cable extension distance “D” can be sensed by an encoder6333 (see FIG. 13) on the take-up reel 6329. The cable extensiondistance “D” from encoder 6338 and angle “A” from sensor 6332 can becommunicated to the control and visualization system 6180 forcomputational purposes. A retraction spring 6334 can be used to retractthe retractable cable 6322 onto take-up reel 6329.

FIG. 13 is a side sectional view of shell 6328 showing a left and rightmeasurement system. Retractable cable 6322 is shown extending fromopening 6330 and is angled towards the “right” of horizontal scale 6335.Horizontal sensor 6336 can measure the horizontal B angle as degrees orradians and as a left or right angle and may communicate to the controland visualization system 6180 for computational purposes. Distanceencoder 6333 can be seen operatively attached to take-up reel 6329 andto retraction spring 6334. Information from vertical sensor 6332,horizontal sensor 6336, and cable extension distance “D” from distanceencoder 6333 provide 3-d information as to the location of the free endof the retractable cable 6322, and when attached to a known point onextendable conveyor 6200, the location of the extendable conveyor 6200relative to the positional measurement device 6320.

FIGS. 14-17 illustrate a second embodiment of positional measurementdevice 6320 henceforth referred to as second positional measurementdevice 6320 b. Second positional measurement device 6320 b fits withinshell 6328 and also uses retractable cable 6322. Retractable cable 6322may be retracted onto take-up reel 6343 within drum 6344 by retractionspring 6346. Distance encoder 6360 can connect to take-up reel 6343 tomeasure cable extension distance. Drum 6344 can pivot around horizontalaxis 6362 and the angle of pivot can be read by a vertical sensor orvertical angle encoder 6364 attached to bracket 6366. Bracket 6366 canrotate around vertical axis 6368 and angular movements around that axiscan be read by a vertical sensor or horizontal angle encoder 6370.Information from distance encoder 6360, vertical angle encoder 6364, andhorizontal angle encoder 6370 provide a 3 dimensional indication of thelocation of the extendable conveyor 6200 relative to the secondpositional measurement device 6320 b. FIGS. 16 and 17 show theretractable cable 6322 at two different angular positions to illustratehow the second positional measurement device 6320 b pivotally moves inresponse to the retractable cable 6322.

FIG. 18 illustrates a third positional measurement device 6320 c withbracket 6371 configured to attach to a vertical surface in shell 6328(not shown). While different in appearance to second positionalmeasurement device 6320 b, the third positional measurement device 6320c functions substantially mechanically the same. Third positionalmeasurement device 6320 c includes retractable cable 6322 extending fromguide tube 6372. Angular position of retractable cable 6322 and guidetube 6372 around a vertical axis 6374 can be measured by vertical radialencoder 6376. Guide tube 6372 can protect the cable when retracted, andcan provide leverage to rotate portions of the positional measurementdevice 6320 c. The angular position of retractable cable 6322 and guidetube 6372 around horizontal axis 6378 can be measured by horizontalradial encoder 6380. Retractable cable 6322 extends from guide tube 6372and wraps around pulley 6382 and into cable reel housing 6384 with thereel thereof rotatable around axis 6386. A cable retraction spring 6387is located within reel housing 6384 and a third radial encoder 6390 isrotatable around axis 6386 to measure extension and retraction distancesof the retractable cable 6322. A 3d location of the free end of theretractable cable 6322 can be created by counting or subtracting pulsesfrom the radial encoder 6376, the second radial encoder 6380, and thethird radial encoder 6390. All distance and angle encoders can berotary. In alternate embodiments, the electrical mechanical positionalmeasurement device 6320 can in alternate embodiments be a vision basedsystem such as described in copending patent application U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/369,435, filed Aug. 31, 2016,entitled “AUTONOMOUS CONTROLS FOR A ROBOTIC CARTON UNLOADER”, the entirecontents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

In embodiments, the electrical and software functions of theself-aligning interface 6300 may be included as part of the control andvisualization system 6180 on the robotic carton unloader 6100 of FIGS. 1and 19. Alternately, and software functions of the self-aligninginterface 6300 may include control and visualization system 6180 on therobotic carton unloader 6100 monitoring forward and reverse commandswithin the control and visualization system 6180. Control andvisualization system 6180 can use the forward and reverse commands tocalculate and communicate extension and retraction commands to theextendable conveyor 6200. If desired, portions of the control andvisualization system 6180 can be split to be partially on the roboticcarton unloader 6100 and the electrical hardware and software functionsof the self-aligning interface 6300 can be split between the control andvisualization system 6180 and extendable conveyor 6200. Each portion canbe slaved to the control and visualization system 6180 on the roboticcarton unloader 6100. In embodiments, either or both of the roboticcarton unloader 6100 and the extendable conveyor 6200 may be configuredto be operated by a human operator, and then may be re-configured backto autonomous operation. The mechanical functions of the self-aligninginterface 6300 can be mounted on the robotic carton unloader 6100 andwill be described in detail later.

FIG. 19 illustrates exemplary components of a robotic carton unloader6100 suitable for use in various embodiments. Depending on embodimentslisted above, each of the control and visualization system 6180 of therobotic carton unloader 6100 may comprise all or some of an externalmonitor 3202, a network interface module 3204, an HMI module 3206, aninput/output module (I/O module 3208), an actuators/distance sensorsmodule 3210, a robotic arm 6130 and a conveyor system 3215 that includesa drives/safety module 3212 and a motion module 3214, a programmablelogic controller (or PLC 3218), a base motion module 3220 that includesa vehicle controller module 3222 and a manual control module 3224, and avision system 3226 (or visualization system) that may include one ormore computing devices 3228 (or “PCs”) and sensor devices 3230. In someembodiments, vision system 3226 of the robotic carton unloader 6100 mayinclude a PC 3228 connected to each sensor device 3230. In embodimentsin which more than one sensor device 3230 is present on the roboticcarton unloader 6100, the PCs 3228 for each sensor device 3230 may benetworked together and one of the PC's 3228 may operate as a master PC3228 receiving data from the other connected PC's 3228, may perform dataprocessing on the received data and its own data (e.g., coordinatetransformation, duplicate elimination, error checking, etc.), and mayoutput the combined and processed data from all the PCs 3228 to the PLC3218. In some embodiments, the network Interface module 3204 may nothave a PLC inline between it and the PC 3228, and the PLC 3218 may serveas the Vehicle Controller and/or Drives/Safety system.

The robotic carton unloader 6100 may connect to remote locations orsystems with a network interface module 3204 (e.g., a Wi-Fi™ radio,etc.) via a network 3203, such as a local area Wi-Fi™ network. Inparticular, the network interface module 3204 may enable the roboticcarton unloader 6100 to connect to an external monitor 3202. Theexternal monitor 3202 may be anyone of a remote warehouse ordistribution center control room, a handheld controller, or, a computer,and may provide passive remote viewing through the vision system 3226 ofthe robotic carton unloader 6100. Alternately, the external monitor 3202may override the programming inherent in the vision system 3226 andassume active command and control of the robotic carton unloader 6100.Programming for the robotic carton unloader 6100 may also becommunicated, operated and debugged through external systems, such asthe external monitor 3202. Examples of an external monitor 3202 thatassumes command and control may include a remotely located humanoperator or a remote system, such as a warehouse or distribution serversystem (i.e., remote device as described above). Exemplary embodimentsof using an external monitor 3202 to assume command and control of therobotic carton unloader 6100 may include human or computer interventionin moving the robotic carton unloader 6100, such as from one unloadingbay to another, or having the external monitor 3202 assume control ofthe robotic arm 6130 to remove an item (e.g., box, carton, etc.) that isdifficult to unload with autonomous routines. The external monitor 3202may include any of: a visual monitor, a keyboard, a joystick, an I/Oport, a CD reader, a computer, a server, a handheld programming device,or any other device that may be used to perform any part of the abovedescribed embodiments.

The robotic carton unloader 6100 may include a human machine interfacemodule 3206 (or HMI module 3206) that may be used to control and/orreceive output information for the robot arm and conveyor system 3215and/or the base motion module 3220. The HMI module 3206 may be used tocontrol (or may itself include) a joystick, a display, and a keypad thatmay be used for re-programming, over-riding the autonomous control ofthe machine, and driving the robotic carton unloader 6100 from point topoint. The actuators 3210 that may be actuated individually or in anycombination by the vision system 3226 and the distance sensors may beused to assist in guiding the robotic carton unloader 6100 into anunloaded area (e.g., a trailer). The I/O module 3208 may connect theactuators and distance sensors 3210 to the PLC 3218. The robotic arm6130 and conveyor system 3215 may include all components needed to movethe arm and/or the conveyor, such as drives/engines and motion protocolsor controls. The base motion module 3220 may be the components formoving the entirety of the robotic carton unloader 6100. In other words,the base motion module 3220 may be the components needed to steer thevehicle into and out of unloading areas.

The PLC 3218 that may control the overall electromechanical movements ofthe robotic carton unloader 6100 or control exemplary functions, such ascontrolling the robotic arm 6130 or a conveyor system 3215. For example,the PLC 3218 may move the manipulator head of the robotic arm 6130 intoposition for obtaining items (e.g., boxes, cartons, etc.) from a wall ofitems. As another example, the PLC 3218 may control the activation,speed, and direction of rotation of kick rollers, and/or variousadjustments of a support mechanism configured to move a front-end shelfconveyor (e.g., front-end shelf conveyor 6412). The PLC 3218 and otherelectronic elements of the vision system 3226 may mount in anelectronics box (not shown) located under a conveyor, adjacent to aconveyor, or elsewhere on the robotic carton unloader 6100. The PLC 3218may operate all or part of the robotic carton unloader 6100 autonomouslyand may receive positional information from the distance sensors 3210.The I/O module 3208 may connect the actuators and the distance sensors3210 to the PLC 3218|

The robotic carton unloader 6100 may include a vision system 3226 thatcomprises sensor devices 3230 (e.g., cameras, microphones, 3D sensors,etc.) and one or more computing device 3228 (referred to as a personalcomputer or “PC” 3228). The robotic carton unloaded 6100 may use thesensor devices 3230 and the one or more PC 3228 of the vision system3226 to scan in front of the robotic carton unloader 6100 in real timeor near real time. The forward scanning may be triggered by the PLC 3218in response to determining the robotic carton unloaded 6100, such as atrigger sent in response to the robotic carton unloader 6100 being inposition to begin detecting cartons in an unloading area. The forwardscanning capabilities may be used for collision avoidance, sent to thehuman shape recognition (safety), sizing unloaded area (e.g., the truckor trailer), and for scanning the floor of the unloaded area for looseitems (e.g., cartons, boxes, etc.). The 3D capabilities of the visionsystem 3226 may also provide depth perception, edge recognition, and maycreate a 3D image of a wall of items (or carton pile). The vision system3226 may operate alone or in concert with the PLC 3218 to recognizeedges, shapes, and the near/far distances of articles in front of therobotic carton unloader 6100. For example the edges and distances ofeach separate carton in the wall of items may be measured and calculatedrelative to the robotic carton unloader 6100, and vision system 3226 mayoperate alone or in concert with the PLC 3218 to may select specificcartons for removal.

In some embodiments, the vision system 3226 may provide the PLC withinformation such as: specific XYZ coordinate locations of cartonstargeted for removal from the unloading area, and one or more movementpaths for the robotic arm 6130 or the mobile body of the robotic cartonunloader 6100 to travel. The PLC 3218 and the vision system 3226 maywork independently or together such as an iterative move and visualcheck process for carton visualization, initial homing, and motionaccuracy checks. The same process may be used during vehicle movement,or during carton removal as an accuracy check. Alternatively, the PLC3218 may use the move and visualize process as a check to see whetherone or more cartons have fallen from the carton pile or repositionedsince the last visual check. While various computing devices and/orprocessors in FIG. 32, such as the PLC 3218, vehicle controller 3222,and PC 3228, have been described separately, in the various embodimentsdiscussed in relation to FIG. 32 and all the other embodiments describedherein, the described computing devices and/or processors may becombined and the operations described herein performed by separatecomputing devices and/or processors may be performed by less computingdevices and/or processors, such as a single computing device orprocessor with different modules performing the operations describedherein. As examples, different processors combined on a single circuitboard may perform the operations described herein attributed todifferent computing devices and/or processors, a single processorrunning multiple threads/modules may perform operations described hereinattributed to different computing devices and/or processors, etc.

An extendable conveyor system 6200 can convey articles from the roboticcarton unloader 6100 to other portions of a material handling system3200. As the robotic carton unloader 6100 advances or retreats, any oneof the positional measurement device 6320, second positional measurementdevice 6320 b, and third positional measurement device 6320 c on therobotic carton unloader 6100 can positionally locate the extendableconveyor 6200. Device interfaces 3238, 3240 respectively of theextendable conveyor 6200 and the robotic carton unloader 6100 can conveyangular and distance information or movement commands. For example, PLC3218 can command an extension motion actuator 3242 on the extendableconveyor 6200 to correspond to movements of the robotic carton unloader6100 to keep the extendable conveyor system 6200 and the robotic cartonunloader 6100 in alignment and in proper spacing. In one embodiment, thedevice interfaces 3238, 3240 utilize a short range wirelesscommunication protocol such as a Personal Access Network (PAN) protocol.Examples of PAN protocols which may be used in the various embodimentsinclude Bluetooth®, IEEE 802.15.4, and Zigbee® wireless communicationprotocols and standards. Alternately, the positional measurement device6320 can be an optical device to sense distances and angles.

As used herein, processors may be any programmable microprocessor,microcomputer or multiple processor chip or chips that can be configuredby software instructions (applications) to perform a variety offunctions, including the functions of the various embodiments describedabove. In the various devices, multiple processors may be provided, suchas one processor dedicated to wireless communication functions and oneprocessor dedicated to running other applications. Typically, softwareapplications may be stored in the internal memory before they areaccessed and loaded into the processors. The processors may includeinternal memory sufficient to store the application softwareinstructions. In many devices the internal memory may be a volatile ornonvolatile memory, such as flash memory, or a mixture of both. For thepurposes of this description, a general reference to memory refers tomemory accessible by the processors including internal memory orremovable memory plugged into the various devices and memory within theprocessors.

The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams areprovided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to requireor imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed inthe order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the artthe order of steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in anyorder. Words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,” etc. are not intendedto limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used to guidethe reader through the description of the methods. Further, anyreference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using thearticles “a,” “an” or “the” is not to be construed as limiting theelement to the singular.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, orcombinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability ofhardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules,circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms oftheir functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented ashardware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentinvention.

The hardware used to implement the various illustrative logics, logicalblocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with theembodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Ageneral-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but, in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. Alternatively, some steps or methods may be performed bycircuitry that is specific to a given function.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a non-transitoryprocessor-readable, computer-readable, or server-readable medium or anon-transitory processor-readable storage medium. The steps of a methodor algorithm disclosed herein may be embodied in a processor-executablesoftware module or processor-executable software instructions which mayreside on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, anon-transitory server-readable storage medium, and/or a non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium. In various embodiments, suchinstructions may be stored processor-executable instructions or storedprocessor-executable software instructions. Tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media may be any available media that may beaccessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, suchnon-transitory computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to storedesired program code in the form of instructions or data structures andthat may be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein,includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray™ disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofnon-transitory computer-readable media. Additionally, the operations ofa method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set ofcodes and/or instructions on a tangible non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium and/or computer-readable medium, whichmay be incorporated into a computer program product.

While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplaryembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted forelements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Inaddition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular system,device or component thereof to the teachings of the disclosure withoutdeparting from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intendedthat the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodimentsdisclosed for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote anyorder or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are usedto distinguish one element from another.

For clarity, the robotic carton unloader 6100 (FIG. 1) is describedherein as unloading cartons, which can be corrugated boxes, woodencrates, polymer or resin totes, storage containers, etc. The manipulatorhead can further engage articles that are products that areshrink-wrapped together or a unitary product. In one or moreembodiments, aspects of the present innovation can be extended to othertypes of manipulator heads that are particularly suited to certain typesof containers or products. The manipulator head can employ mechanicalgripping devices, electrostatic adhesive surfaces, electromagneticattraction, etc. Aspects of the present innovation can also be employedon a single conventional articulated arm.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The description of the present disclosure has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thedescribed embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explainthe principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

All publications, patents and patent applications cited herein, whethersupra or infra, are hereby incorporated by reference in their entiretyto the same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patentapplication was specifically and individually indicated as incorporatedby reference. It should be appreciated that any patent, publication, orother disclosure material, in whole or in part, that is said to beincorporated by reference herein is incorporated herein only to theextent that the incorporated material does not conflict with existingdefinitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth in thisdisclosure. As such, and to the extent necessary, the disclosure asexplicitly set forth herein supersedes any conflicting materialincorporated herein by reference. Any material, or portion thereof, thatis said to be incorporated by reference herein, but which conflicts withexisting definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forthherein, will only be incorporated to the extent that no conflict arisesbetween that incorporated material and the existing disclosure material.It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referentsunless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example,reference to a “colorant agent” includes two or more such agents.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which the invention pertains. Although a number of methodsand materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can beused in the practice of the present invention, the preferred materialsand methods are described herein.

References within the specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “embodiments”, or “one or more embodiments” are intended toindicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of such phrases invarious places within the specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternativeembodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, variousfeatures are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments andnot by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which maybe requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

It is understood that the use of specific component, device and/orparameter names and/or corresponding acronyms thereof, such as those ofthe executing utility, logic, and/or firmware described herein, are forexample only and not meant to imply any limitations on the describedembodiments. The embodiments may thus be described with differentnomenclature and/or terminology utilized to describe the components,devices, parameters, methods and/or functions herein, withoutlimitation. References to any specific protocol or proprietary name indescribing one or more elements, features or concepts of the embodimentsare provided solely as examples of one implementation, and suchreferences do not limit the extension of the claimed embodiments toembodiments in which different element, feature, protocol, or conceptnames are utilized. Thus, each term utilized herein is to be given itsbroadest interpretation given the context in which that terms isutilized.

As will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art, themethods and compositions of the invention substantially reduce oreliminate the disadvantages and drawbacks associated with prior artmethods and compositions.

It should be noted that, when employed in the present disclosure, theterms “comprises,” “comprising,” and other derivatives from the rootterm “comprise” are intended to be open-ended terms that specify thepresence of any stated features, elements, integers, steps, orcomponents, and are not intended to preclude the presence or addition ofone or more other features, elements, integers, steps, components, orgroups thereof.

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in theart to variously employ the present invention in virtually anyappropriately detailed structure.

While it is apparent that the illustrative embodiments of the inventionherein disclosed fulfill the objectives stated above, it will beappreciated that numerous modifications and other embodiments may bedevised by one of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, it will beunderstood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and embodiments, which come within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A self-aligning interface for interfacing anextendable conveyor that is attached to a floor of a warehouse to arobotic carton unloader for unloading cartons within a semi-trailer,wherein the extendable conveyor has an extendable nose conveyor toreceive unloaded cartons thereon from the robotic carton unloader duringthe unloading process, the self-aligning interface comprising: apositional measurement device mounted on the robotic carton unloader andoperatively engaged with the extendable conveyor to provide positionalinformation about the location of the extendable nose conveyor relativeto the positional measurement device; and a control unit attached to therobotic carton unloader for robotic control of the robotic cartonunloader and the unloading process, the control unit operably connectedto the positional measurement device and communicably connected to theextendable conveyor, the control unit using the positional informationto calculate and control extension and retraction movements of theextendable conveyor to move in unison with the forward and reversemovements of the robotic carton unloader.
 2. The self-aligning interfaceof claim 1 wherein the positional measurement device comprises aretractable cable connected to the extendable nose conveyor to sensedistance and angular differences between the positional measurementdevice and the connection to the extendable nose conveyor.
 3. Theself-aligning interface of claim 2 wherein the retractable cableincludes an attachment member at a free end thereof for attachment tothe extendable conveyor.
 4. The self-aligning interface of claim 2wherein at least a portion of the attachment member is arcuate.
 5. Theself-aligning interface of claim 3 wherein the retractable cable isoperatively coupled to a distance encoder for measuring extension andretraction distances of the retractable cable.
 6. The self-aligninginterface of claim 3 wherein the distance encoder is rotary to measureextension and retraction distances of the retractable cable.
 7. Theself-aligning interface of claim 3 wherein the positional measurementdevice includes a vertical angle sensor to measure a vertical angle ofthe retractable cable extending between the positional measurementdevice and an attachment point on the extendable conveyor.
 8. Theself-aligning interface of claim 3 wherein the vertical sensor is arotary encoder configured to measure angles.
 9. The self-aligninginterface of claim 3 wherein the positional measurement device includesa horizontal sensor to measure a horizontal angle of the retractablecable extending between the positional measurement device and anattachment point on the extendable conveyor.
 10. The self-aligninginterface of claim 9 wherein the horizontal angle sensor is a rotaryencoder configured to measure angles.
 11. The self-aligning interface ofclaim 3 wherein the positional measurement device includes a guide tubeconfigured to pivot around a vertical axis and a horizontal axis inresponse to movement of the retractable cable.
 12. The self-aligninginterface of claim 1 further comprising a carton alignment interfaceattached to a rear of the robotic carton unloader configured toreposition from contact with the extendable nose conveyor to laterallyredirect unloaded cartons exiting a rear of the robotic carton unloaderonto the extendable nose conveyor.
 13. The self-aligning interface ofclaim 12 wherein the carton alignment interface comprises spaced apartrear guides that are pivotally attached to the robotic carton unloaderat upstream ends to a throat, and said spaced apart rear guideslaterally pivot there around from engagement of the extendable noseconveyor with the self-aligning interface.
 14. The self-aligninginterface of claim 13 wherein the carton alignment interface comprisesrear guides and a sliding bar wherein when sliding bar moves laterallyfrom contact with the extendable conveyor, the spaced apart rear guidespivot into carton receiving alignment with the extendable nose conveyorto redirect unloaded cartons thereon.
 15. The self-aligning interface ofclaim 14 wherein the carton alignment interface further comprisesrollers rotatingly attached to a sliding bar and spaced apart to receivethe extendable nose conveyor there between, the rollers configured torotate around a generally vertical axis from contact with the extendablenose conveyor and to move said sliding bar laterally from the contact.16. The self-aligning interface of claim 1 wherein the positionalmeasurement device comprises an electrical mechanical positionalmeasurement device.
 17. The self-aligning interface of claim 1 wherein aportion of the control unit is on the extendable conveyor.
 18. Theself-aligning interface of claim 1 wherein the control unit communicateswith the extendable conveyor without a physical connection.
 19. Theself-aligning interface of claim 11 wherein the control unitcommunicates with the extendable conveyor through a cable.
 20. Theself-aligning interface of claim 1 wherein the control unit isconfigured to use the positional information to extend the extendableconveyor to a carton receiving position adjacent to the robotic cartonunloader to receive unloaded cartons thereon.
 21. An interface forinterfacing an unloader conveyor mounted on a robotic carton unloader toan extendable conveyor attached to a floor of a warehouse, theextendable conveyor extendable into a semi-trailer parked at a loadingdoor of the warehouse and configured to receive cartons being unloadedby the robotic carton unloader within the semi-trailer, the interfacecomprising: a positional measurement device mounted on the roboticcarton unloader and operatively engagable with the extendable conveyorto provide angular and distance positional information about theextendable conveyor relative to the positional measurement device; acarton alignment interface comprising rear guides attached to therobotic carton unloader, the rear guides configured to guide unloadedcartons exiting the unloader conveyor onto the extendable nose conveyor;and a control unit including a processor operatively attached to therobotic carton unloader and to the positional measurement device andcommunicably connected to the extendable conveyor to calculate andcoordinate movements of the extendable conveyor relative to movements ofthe robotic carton unloader to ensure that the extendable conveyor isalways in a position to receive the flow of unloaded cartons off of theunloader conveyor.
 22. The self-aligning interface of claim 21 whereinthe positional measurement device comprises a retractable cableconnected to the extendable nose conveyor to sense distance and angulardifferences between the positional measurement device and the connectionto the extendable nose conveyor.
 23. The self-aligning interface ofclaim 21 wherein the retractable cable is connected to a distanceencoder to measure distance between the robotic carton unloader and theconnection to the extendable conveyor.
 24. The self-aligning interfaceof claim 21 wherein the control unit is configured to use the positionalinformation to extend the extendable conveyor (6200) to a cartonreceiving position adjacent to the robotic carton unloader to receiveunloaded cartons thereon.
 25. The self-aligning interface of claim 21wherein the rear guides pivot to laterally change a path of the unloadedcartons conveyed on rear conveyor by contact therewith.